time at all. just ask him to see that it is real. this happened on the floor of the senate. thank you fog and the follicle gods. harry reid on ben nelson's luscious locks. they may refer to the record of that luscious body and find hair envy actually in it. that's the best weirdest new thing in the world. that does it for us tonight. rachel will be back tomorrow with great hair. now it is time for the last word. rachel will be back tomorrow with great hair, as always. up next, "first look." right now on "first look," terror at an. on. shopping mall as a mass gunman opens fire, killing two people. north korea successfully fires a long-range rocket, defying the threat of international sanctions. plus, michigan's right to work, a cosmic close shave and an update for you on that little guy, the ikea monkey in canada.

but first, good morning, everyone. i'm lynn berry. and the hustle and bustle of the holiday season took a terrifying turn in portland, oregon, yesterday, when a masked gunman stormed into a busy shopping mall and opened fire, killing two people, injuring another before apparently turning the gun on himself. nbc's kirk gregory has the chilling details. >> reporter: a day of holiday shopping turned into a horrific afternoon of terror when a gunman opened fire inside a crowded suburban portland mall. >> we started receiving calls at 3:30, multiple 911 calls. we responded quickly. >> reporter: several store employees locked themselves in break rooms and bathrooms until police could arrive. >> many people locked in place, many people ran. those are the two most appropriate things to do in these circumstances. >> reporter: shaken family members waited anxiously for news as police worked to secure the mall and search for victims. >> i just want to hug her and i

want her to get out. >> reporter: eyewitnesses describe a chaotic scene. >> i heard several shots and saw a lot of people running, so i just went to the doors and held them open because people were trampling each other trying to get out. >> people started hiding behind counters, and eventually, everybody went to the middle of sears and on top of the escalators, away from all the entrances. >> reporter: police say the suspect, an adult male, took his own life inside the mall and that no shots were fired by law enforcement. witnesses say the gunman was carrying a rifle, wearing camouflage, a bullet-proof vest and a mask. now, as police work to secure the crime scene, the portland community is left to grieve for the loss of life that took place inside this shopping mall. kirk gregory, nbc news. >> terrible. all right, international outrage this morning after north korea launched a long-range rocket for the second time since kim jong-un took power.

and these are brand-new pictures from the capital in a clear display of propaganda there. the white house is far less jovial, calling the launch a threat to regional security. nbc's ian williams is live for us. he is watching the developments from beijing. ian, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, lynn. and yes, the north koreans have once again defied international warnings and launched what they describe as a rocket carrying a satellite into orbit, but which the u.s. and most outsiders regard as a thinly disguised test of a ballistic missile. now, the rocket was fired this morning shortly before 10:00 a.m. local time. it went on a trajectory over the japanese island of okinawa and quickly provoked expressions of anger and outrage from japan and korea, which convened meetings of security officials. the u.s. described it as a provocative act threatening

regional security. now, north korea, for their part, quickly said that it was a success, that the satellite is in orbit, unlike a test earlier this year when the rocket burned up on launch. the u.s. experts have conceded that an object is, indeed, in orbit and that even the chinese have expressed regret today, lynn. >> ian williams there live for us in beijing. ian, thanks so much. back here at home, michigan is now the 24th state in america with a right-to-work law. despite protests of angry union supporters, state lawmakers passed the legislation. this means both private and public workers do not have to pay union fees. and republican governor rick snyder quickly signed the bills, calling them "pro worker" and "pro michigan," but opponents say the move weakens organized labor and will mean lower wages. last night on "politics nation," democratic congressman gary peters of michigan told the reverend al sharpton that

governor snyder did an about face on this issue. take a listen. >> it is particularly hard to explain, because we had a governor who repeatedly said that this was not on his agenda, this would be very divisive for our state. he continually said that for a couple years, and then immediately after the election had a really sharp about-face and then just jammed it through without, as you mentioned, without any hearings or public input. i was able to meet with him with other members of the congressional delegation. he sat and listened to us, but he never really responded, and when he did respond, in fact, i was amazed by the lack of understanding that he has about this issue. >> don't miss "politics nation," weekdays at 6:00 p.m. eastern right here on msnbc. all right, less than three weeks to go until that so-called fiscal cliff, and still no deal. but this morning, there are signs of some movement in negotiations. president obama and house speaker john boehner did speak by phone last night. that conversation came after the

president offered to reduce his initial request for $1.6 trillion in new revenue to $1.4 trillion but is reportedly not backing down on raising taxes for the top 2%. boehner's spokesman said republicans are still seeking further concessions on spending cuts. well, there are some new details this morning on that london nurse who took her own life after passing through a prank call at the hospital that was treating kate middleton for extreme morning sickness. jacintha saldanha's family reveals that she left a suicide note, though they haven't released details of what that note said. earlier this week, the two deejays who made the call said the tragedy has left them shattered, gutted and heartbroken. now, here's your first look at this morning's "dish of scrambled politics." mitt romney wasn't the only one caught off guard last night. it is reported the powerful conservative koch brothers are postponing a gathering set for

next month until april. an e-mail from charles koch to friends says in part, "we are working hard to understand the election results, to re-examine our vision and the strategies and capabilities required for success." "the new york times" reports "game change" co-authors mark halperin and joe hileman have signed on to write a new book about this year's election. the title, "double down: game change 2012." and like the last book that chronicles the obama/mccain campaign, this will eventually be turned into a show on hbo. as more states move to decriminalize marijuana, you can add one more name to the list of people who think that is an idea worth exploring. that would be former president jimmy carter. >> i'm in favor of it. i think it's okay. i think we could watch and see what happens in the state of washington, for instance, around seattle, and let the american government and let the american people see, does it cause a

serious problem or not. all drugs were decriminalized in portugal about ten years ago, and the use of drugs has gone down dramatically. elsewhere, you have heard stephen colbert's name mentioned, we think in jest, as the next senator from south carolina. well, his potential colleague, john mccain, was asked what he would teach colbert if he landed a job. mccain jokingly answered, "how to shut up." ouch! what? so, if ashley judd decides to run for senate in kentucky, she'll be off to a strong start. a new poll by the democratic-leaning public policy polling shows the actress trailing current occupant mitch mcconnell by just four points, 47% to 43%. and finally, scientists at harvard and yale have named a recently discovered prehistoric lizard after president obama. here's the name -- obamadon

graculus. it's latin and based on the grin and slender demeanor. that's the dish of "scrambled politics." now for a check of national weather, dylan dreyer is checking the weather channel forecast. good morning. >> good morning. >> i don't know a lizard is something i'd like to be named after. i don't know anything, but a lizard not so much. >> don't really see the resemblance, but hey -- >> it's fine. >> it's a name, right? we are going to see a lot of rain this morning down across florida, not as much or as many severe storms as we saw yesterday in florida, but this cold front is still moving through the panhandle and also through central portions of the state, so we are still dealing with a few heavier pockets of rain. also across the eastern coastline of the southeast through north and south carolina, also in georgia as well. we have some snow showers falling through idaho, where we could pick up another couple of inches and more light snow will come to an end quickly across northern michigan. this cold front will move through the area.

back behind it is actually pretty chilly. we are going to see temperatures down into texas today only in the 50s, but the big story is the rain. we did have several reports of flooded streets, flooded roadways, flooded homes across portions of central florida yesterday. today, though, the heaviest of the rain is moving back out over the water and all of the rain we'll see today should only accumulate up to about an inch or so. lynn? >> dylan, thanks so much. coming up, new details on the plane crash that claimed the life of latin singer jenni rivera. plus, finding your bliss. we'll show you where the nation's happiest employees work. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. victor! victor!

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some stories making news this morning. in a televised interview, president obama said the u.s. recognizes the main opposition group as the legitimate representative of syria. russia's foreign minister lashed out at those comments, saying the u.s. has placed all bets on the armed victory of the rebel coalition. in mexico, fans of jenni rivera gathered for a procession

and vigil to mourn the mexican american singer who was killed in a plane crash sunday. mexico's top transportation official says rivera's plane plunged almost vertically from more than 28,000 feet and may have hit the ground at more than 600 miles per hour. in russia's far east, a fiery sight as a dormant volcano started erupting after almost 40 years. red-hot lava poured out as an alert went out for planes to stay back. a giant asteroid known as 4179 tutotis is passing by earth within 4.3 million miles. that's close enough to view through a telescope, and it's more than 3 miles across. that's about half the size of the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. now let's get a check of wall street. the dow closed at 13,248 after gaining 78 points yesterday. the s&p added nine. the nasdaq jumped 35. overseas markets also ended on a

high note. in tokyo, the nikkei rose 56 points, while in hong kong, the hang seng plunged 179. and markets closed higher for a fifth straight day. they would have added more tuesday, but stocks gave back some gains after senate leader harry reid called a fiscal cliff deal before christmas "extremely difficult." today the focus is on the fed, which is expected to announce it will continue its economic stimulus until the economy shows greater improvement. a government forecast predicts u.s. oil demand will tick half a percent higher in 2013 after slumping more than 1.5% to a 15-year low this year. delta's stock took off yesterday after announcing it will buy almost half of richard branson's virgin atlantic airline. a new reuters/ipsus poll finds 58% of americans surveyed have only finished about half or less of their holiday shopping so far. 28% said they hadn't even started, and 16% were less than a quarter done.

you have time. two law firms have filed suit against fedex, claiming they've been illegally charged residential delivery fees for years. those allegations are supported by internal e-mails from fedex employees who say that this particular employee discovered widespread overcharging only to be ignored by his superiors. fedex says the documents don't tell the entire story. the fbi says it used facebook to help track down and bust a ring of international cyber criminals that infected 11 million computers, leading to $850 million in losses. and speaking of facebook, the social network has landed in the top spot in an annual employees choice survey for the best place to work. workers praised facebook's fun culture and they also apparently give large responsibilities to folks relatively early in their careers. well, just ahead, when it comes to christmas decorations, if you can't beat them, just give up. plus, a custody battle

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we all go. why not enjoy the go with charmin ultra soft? well, an update for you on this little guy, the well-dressed monkey that was discovered in an ikea parking lot in toronto last week. his name's darwin, and he's apparently been taken to an animal sanctuary. his owner has now been fined for keeping an illegal pet. she plans to fight for custody.

all right, here's your first look at some of the other news going on around america today, and we're going to begin with a massive explosion that shook a small west virginia town. it torched at least four homes. apparently, a gas line rupture sparked this blast, producing flames more than 70 feet high and scorching more than 800 feet of interstate 77. remarkably, no one was killed and that fire was brought under control. well, in florida, it was a thunderous send-off for a top-secret military mission. an atlas 5 rocket launched an x-37b mini shuttle in orbit for a classified project, although the air force is being hush-hush on the details. some reports say the spacecraft is going to be conducting tests on advanced spy satellite devices. and finally, this is brilliant. one arizona homeowner has no problem riding her neighbor's coattails. instead of mimicking the extravagant christmas decorations next door, christina green just put up "ditto" in a

sign with an arrow pointing in the direction of the laboratoel design. this is the third year she's done it and is getting a lot of visitors, saving money, too. and in sports, we tip off in the nba, knicks and nets, new york against brooklyn. jason kidd hits a three-point shot for the lead in the last minute and he was fouled but missed the free throw, so the nets missed some clutch shots. therefore, the knicks hung on for a 100-97 win. in cleveland, kyrie irving returned to the cavaliers lineup after missing the last 11 games and scored 28 points against the lakers. the cavs beat the lakers 100-94. the l.a. dodgers held a news conference to announce the signing of pitcher zack greinke to a six-year, $147 million deal. that's the richest ever for a right-handed pitcher. and free agent kevin youkilis

and the new york yankees have reached an agreement on a one-year deal worth $12 million. he'll play third base. you know where that is, the third one around the bases. while alex rodriguez recovers from his surgery that could sideline him for half the season. and the nfl has dropped all suspensions against new orleans saints players in the so-called bountygate scandal, where some players were paid for big hits on opponents, but the ruling said the suspension of the team's coaches will continue. all right, now let's get another check of that weather with nbc meteorologist dylan dreyer. she has your forecast, a quiet one today, dylan. >> it really is pretty quiet, which is good, because next week, i don't know, not looking so quiet tuesday and wednesday, a possible storm brewing that we'll keep an eye on. but for now, it's just about the cold. we have temperatures in the teens in minneapolis, even northern minnesota seeing temperatures almost below zero this morning. we've had freeze warnings down through texas. southern texas starting off the

day right around 32 degrees. we'll rebound only into the 40s and 50s across most of the country. big story, the thunderstorms that we're seeing down across florida. those are weakening as we speak, so they're not going to be nearly as powerful as yesterday. then as we go into tomorrow, still a couple more showers across miami, but most of the country remains quiet through your thursday as well. lynn? >> all right, not bad. dylan, thanks so much. just ahead, this year's rock and roll hall of fame inductees and twitter's year in review. plus, we'll have new details on the controversy at "storage wars." you're watching "first look" on msnbc. ave copd like me, you know it can be hard to breathe, and how that feels. copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva helps control my copd symptoms by keeping my airways open for 24 hours. plus, it reduces copd flare-ups. spiriva is the only once-daily inhaled copd maintenance treatment that does both. spiriva handihaler tiotropium bromide inhalation powder does not replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms.

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it's getting a little heated between president obama and speaker boehner. take a look at what they've been

saying to each other. yesterday, obama said, "if we can get some leadership on the republican side, we can probably solve this in about a week. it's not that tough." boehner then responded, saying, "i've sent the president our proposal. if he doesn't like our plan, he should come back with a plan of his own." obama responded to that saying, "maybe i will." [ laughter ] which boehner replied, "maybe i will." and mr. obama replied "whatever." mr. boehner replied "whatever times infinity," to which obama replied, "damn, infinity. you win for now." if only it were that simple. well, it is 12/12/12, and over a dozen superstars will be getting together for this huge sandy relief concert. this will be massive and will be broadcast to over 2 billion

homes worldwide, making it the most widely distributed music event in history. the lineup just as huge -- bon jovi, kanye west, paul mccartney, bruce springsteen, many, many more. it's going to be pretty incredible. so, in absolutely shocking news -- i know you'll be floored about this one, dylan -- a reality series is being sued for staging events, allegedly, in the show. ame's "storage wars" is accused of planting valuable and unusual items on the show. a former cast member says he was fired after complaining about the deceptive practice. don't you love how we don't have bill interrupting me the entire time? dylan's so quiet over there. >> i didn't know i could! >> now you'll be doing it all the time. >> all the time. the 2013 rock and roll hall of fame inductees have been announced, and some highlights are donna summer, heart, public enemy, rush and randy newman. quite the diverse group there. finally, the year-end list and recaps keep coming, so

twitter has released their year-end review. some of the most popular events on twitter in 2012 were the olympics, of course, james cameron's tweet from the deep. i missed that. i don't know. hurricane sandy and the presidential election. so, here's looking forward to another year of 140 characters. maybe in 2013, they'll go to like 150. i'm always looking for that last little oomph. >> i always have to shorten words that should never be shortened just to get it in there. >> always dramatically incorrect. i'm lynn berry. this is "first look" on msnbc. stay tuned, "way too early" is next. i wasn't sure if it was for real at first, until i seen the reactions on their faces that they were serious. >> he's sitting there pointing the gun at some people, so we ran to the fitting rooms, grabbed the people, then ran out the back exit to get out of there. >> people were trampling each other trying to get out and i just kept going back i